2003-09-16

The Reason For The War In Iraq

Several vested interests came together to foster a war for their own profit.

In the aftermath of 9/11, Donald Rumsfeld wanted the Pentagon to launch a war against Iraq. Military and intelligence officials said there were no apparent connections between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein. Rumsfeld then asked them to come up with whatever evidence that MIGHT SEEM to indicate some connections between the two. Whatever was offered by these officials was then souped up by Rumsfeld and his team and then vetted by pliant officials in the security establishment (Tenet, Rice, etc.). This was how G. W. Bush made the Niger uranium claim.

The neo-conservative think-tank Project for the New American Century (PNAC) reveals in a paper that President Bush and his cabinet were planning a premeditated attack on Iraq for “regime change” even before assuming power in January 2001. The document was authored by Dick Cheney (now the vice-president), Donald Rumsfeld (defence secretary), Paul Wolfowitz (Rumsfeld’s deputy), George W Bush’s younger brother Jeb and Lewis Libby (Cheney’s chief of staff).

George Shultz of Bechtel wrote an op-ed article in The Washington Times, months before the invasion, saying that “a strong foundation exists for immediate military action against [Saddam] Hussein and for a multilateral effort to rebuild Iraq after he is gone.” Bechtel received a no-bid $1 billion reconstruction contract. Halliburton (which formerly employed Dick Cheney) has been a recipient of numerous no-bid contracts in Iraq. Its subsidiary, Kellog, Brown & Root is the largest private military company employed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Carlyle group, where George Bush Sr. & James Baker work, stands to make huge gains from war.

These people are the ones who decide whether the US goes to war or not. It is their interests that rank above the rest. American soldiers getting killed or maimed in Iraq or elsewhere is of no concern to them. In any case, the bulk of US forces in Iraq are made up from minority groups like blacks and Hispanics.

President Bush said Iraq was a throbbing hub of terror. But, all the terror in Iraq seems to be produced by Iraqis themselves. After an attack on American soldiers guarding a hospital, an Iraqi was intereviewed and he said, “If at all these soldiers should be attacked, then I hope they do it some place away from the hospital.” This is the reality in Iraq. There is no love lost between Americans and Iraqis. Dreamed-up publicity stunts such as the ones at Halabaja have no value whatsoever.

Checkout:

[The Ex-presidents’ Club]()
[George Bush: The Unauthorised Biography]()
[Donald Rumsfeld’s Handshake With Saddam]()
[PNAC Primer]()
[Unanswered Questions About 9/11]()
[Le Figaro Reports CIA, Bin Laden Contacts]()
[William Blum Page]()
War Profiteers